The heirs of Griffith J. Griffith, the silver-mining magnate who donated the plot of open space that became Griffith Park, joined other groups Monday in a fight to reopen a popular Beachwood Drive trail entrance that leads up to the Hollywood sign.

A private family trust that represents the estate of Griffith J. Griffith was among the parties that filed a motion Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to “intervene” in a lawsuit that led to last month’s closure of the trailhead into Griffith Park.

Van Griffith, the great-great-grandson, is one of the family members involved in the charitable trust, said Rachel Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Friends of Griffith Park, another party in the motion. The nonprofit advocates for public access to parks.

The Beachwood entrance had been one of the easiest and quickest ways for tourists who wanted a close-up view of the famed Hollywood sign. A longer climb along the path, known as the Hollyridge Trail, also leads hikers to a peak overlooking the back of the sign.

The trail entrance is in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Beachwood Canyon and has generated some complaints from people who live nearby.

According to city officials, the Recreations and Parks department was forced to shut the entrance after losing a lawsuit filed by Sunset Ranch, a privately run horse stables and tour company at the base of the trail. The owners of the stables contend the constant pedestrian traffic was blocking its use of a dirt path easement that allowed cars in and out of its premises.

The city’s response to the judge’s ruling in March was to turn away and redirect tourists and hikers to other entrances, mostly to longer and more advanced trails, or to a shuttle that takes people to a more remote view of the sign.

But hiking enthusiasts and some residential groups maintain the city should have responded differently to the judge’s ruling and worked to keep the entrance open without blocking the easement of the horse stables.

The Los Feliz Oaks Homeowners Association, which represents a residential neighborhood that could be getting some of the spillover traffic from tourists and hikers, is also part of the motion.

The closure of the Beachwood Drive entrance is “against the spirit of the grant by the Griffith (family),” said attorney Mike Gatto, who is representing the Griffith family trust and the two other groups.

The “motion to intervene” will give the groups a voice in the final settlement and judgment talks, and allow the parties to “assert the interest of anybody who wants to hike, and anybody who lives in around the neighborhoods,” he said.

“The Griffiths have a long history of protecting the original intent of the gift to the city to Los Angeles, that this is a public park” given to the public forever, Gatto said.

“If the court finds the city is mismanaging Griffith Park, it goes back to them (the family),” Gatto noted. “There are really serious consequences to this.”

The motion challenges the city’s decision to close the trailhead, saying that action violates the city charter, the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws.

Attorneys also contend that some information provided to the judge was partly false, including the city’s assertion that it had provided an alternative entrance to the trail 1,500 feet away.

“The next gate to Griffith Park is only 1,500 feet away if you’re an eagle,” Gatto said. “If you’re a human, it’s a 3-mile walk. You gotta go way down the hill and turn around and go way up the hill. Things like that kind of misled the court.”

The trailhead “belongs to the people, but the city in effect gave public property to private party,” he added. “This is like suing the city for a pothole, your car gets damaged for a pothole and the city says ‘We’re going to buy you a house.’ ”

Members of the Friends of Griffith Park have suggested the city could have solved Sunset Ranch’s complaints by opening up a trailhead immediately adjacent to the current path, so that pedestrians can still enter without getting into the way of cars entering or exiting the stables along the easement.

Estevan Montemayor, spokesman for Councilmember David Ryu, who represents the area, defended the city’s decision, explaining “the city of Los Angeles lost in court.”

Attorneys for the city and Sunset Ranch were not immediately available to respond.

Elizabeth Chou has reported on Los Angeles City Hall government and politics since 2013, first with City News Service, and now the Los Angeles Daily News since the end of 2016. She grew up in the Los Angeles area, and formerly a San Gabriel Valley girl. She now resides in the other Valley, and is enjoying exploring her new San Fernando environs. She previously worked at Eastern Group Publications, covering Montebello, Monterey Park, City of Commerce, and Vernon.